County: Unprecedented auction likely recovers debt

By Lindsay Street

Lindsay Street/Gazette
An auctioneer with Cincinnati Industrial Auctioneers calls out items for bidding June 11 during Berkeley County’s auction of American LaFrance’s business personal property.

The auction of a defunct manufacturer’s business personal property Wednesday will likely recoup the costs of a $650,000 economic development debt owed to Berkeley County, according to a statement released by the county Thursday.

Every item was sold and more than 275 participated in the event, according to the release.

Firetruck maker American LaFrance closed up shop in January after years of financial trouble. Hundreds of jobs were lost and the company left fees unpaid from a fee-in-lieu of tax deal.

According to officials, the county’s auction of the business personal property is likely the first time in South Carolina history where a county has had to recover money through that avenue. The county and private businesses have been unable to raise any representatives with the company since its closure.

“The debt left by American LaFrance was a major concern,” county Supervisor Dan Davis said in the statement. “Although we attempted to reach out to the company, they were unresponsive. I did not feel it was right or just to allow this burden to fall upon our citizens and taxpayers. We explored several options, and the one which seemed most likely to recoup the full debt was to conduct an auction.”

Although county officials are still awaiting final figures, early calculations indicate the county will likely recover all outstanding taxes and fees under the fee-in-lieu tax agreement, plus costs for operating the auction, which was run by Cincinnati Industrial Auctioneers.

Officials expect the final transactions to be complete within the next few weeks, at which time the final results and figures will be released.

Comments

Notice about comments:

The Gazette is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Gazette.

If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.